Wellness travel growing ‘exponentially’, says BodyHoliday boss amid expansion plans

The wellness travel market is “growing exponentially” with no sign of slowing, according to the chief executive of Sunswept Resorts.

 

Speaking to Aspire, Andrew Barnard hailed the growth of the sector as one of the reasons the group decided to expand its Saint Lucia-based brand BodyHoliday into Europe.

 

He said: “[Wellness travel] is growing by about six, seven or eight percent a year in the tourism market, and I don’t see that really slowing down in the foreseeable future.

 

“Brands that are well positioned will take advantage of [this] much better than the mass market. So I believe that we have an opportunity at BodyHoliday to expand strategically in a manner that truly responds to consumer demand.”

 

This demand has seen a particular surge since the Covid lockdown, according to Barnard, who said the pandemic gave people “a true wake up on what it is to be well”.

 

Now, there’s a “wider societal movement” that’s driving people to live healthier lives, making wellness a key factor travellers consider when booking holidays.

 

“With the very little precious time [people] have, they want a holiday, but they absolutely want it to be moulded fundamentally with wellness,” he said. “Leisure time is becoming wellness time.”

 

This shift has prompted many luxury hotel groups to enhance their wellness offering, but Barnard believes there is an important distinction between properties with a spa and wellbeing programme and those centred solely around wellness.

 

He said: “I always encourage people not to conflate luxury with wellness. You have to be very careful that you define carefully what it is the customers are actually asking for.

 

“Are they asking for luxury or are they asking for an actual transformational experience?”

 

Barnard said that properties with an established wellness ethos should “support and inspire guests to live a better life and make better choices”.

 

“At BodyHoliday, our sole purpose from the foundation was wellness,” he added.

 

The brand’s second property, BodyHoliday Algarve, is scheduled to open in 2029, with Barnard already eyeing further opportunities.

 

“I’d like to do a few in Europe,” he said. “We’re also looking in Central America and other Caribbean islands. We’re open to new options.”

 

As the group grows, Barnard vowed that the trade will remain “really important”.

 

He said BodyHoliday will continue to help agents personalise wellness plans, providing “everything their clients are going to need”.

 

“One of the things that will continue to differentiate the travel agent is their ability to personalise at a human level,” he said. “One of the things we’re very focus on is to help our travel agent partners personalise a wellness journey for each and every guest.”